Defence forces excel in polo tournament
The defence forces dominated the fourth day of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh National Polo Tournament being organised by the Indian Polo Association (IPA) at the Chandigarh Polo Club, Khuda Lahora, on Thursday. The 61 Cavalry entered the semi-final round and the Indian Navy also made it to the final four.
In the first match of the day, the Army’s only horse mounted regiment, 61 Cavalry, took on Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club and registered a sweaty win of 8-4.5. The first round was evenly poised with a scoreline of 2-2.5, wherein Captain Anmol Wariach smashed both opening goals for the winning side. Major Anant Rajpurohit gelled well with Lt Col Vishal Chauhan to score four excellent goals in the second round to consolidate their position with 7-4.5 after the second round. Salim Azmi scored two goals for the club in this round. Captain Wariach scored the final goal of the match to seal the victory for 8-4.5.
In the second match of the day, the Indian Navy beat Chandigarh Polo Club 12-8.5. Hosts could not take advantage of the 3.5 goal lead as the first round ended with a scoreline of 5-3.5 in the favor of the sailors. All targets were scored by Dhruv Pal Godara. Later, the Indian Navy scored six goals through Capt AP Singh and CPO Shivam . Chandigarh Polo Club did best to improve the one-sided scoreline of 11-3.5 in the third round with a hat-trick from Dilpreet Singh Sidhu. UT riders scored five goals in the final round but couldn’t save itself from defeat as the match ended at 12-8.5.
Earlier, Panchkula outclassed Charminar (Hyderabad) 7-1 in the Young Riders Cup. Prabhakar scored four goals for the winning team
The first semifinal match will be played between the Indian Navy and Army Service Corps, while 61 Cavalry will take on Rajasthan Polo Club in the second fixture on Friday.
